Extreme Programming Installed [Paperback]

Ron Jeffries (Author), Ann Anderson (Author), Chet Hendrickson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 26, 2000 | ISBN-10: 0201708426 | ISBN-13: 978-0201708424 | Edition: 1

Extreme Programming (XP) is a revolutionary lightweight methodology that's supercharging software development in organizations worldwide. Perfect for small teams producing software with fast-changing requirements, XP can save time and money while dramatically improving quality. In XP Installed, three participants in DaimlerChrysler's breakthrough XP project cover every key practice associated with XP implementation. The book consists of a connected collection of essays, presented in the order the practices would actually be implemented during a project. Ideal as both a start-to-finish tutorial and quick reference, the book demonstrates exactly how XP can promote better communication, quality, control, and predictability. An excellent complement to the best selling Extreme Programming Explained, it also works perfectly on a standalone basis, for any developer or team that wants to get rolling with XP fast.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Preface How much would you pay for a software development team that would do what you want? Wait, don't answer yet--what if they could also tell you how much it would cost, so that you could decide what to do and what to defer, on your way to your deadline? You also get quality software, a robust array of tests that support the project through its entire lifecycle, and an up-to-date, clear view of project status. Best of all, you get the ability to change your mind about what you want, at any time.

There aren't any silver bullets in software development, and there probably never will be. However, Extreme Programming is a simple set of common-sense practices that, when used together, really can give you much of what you just read in the paragraph above. In this book, we tell you what the XP practices are, and how to install them in your project.

We are software developers. We have been involved in many successful projects, and even in some that weren't so successful. The successful ones were a lot more fun, for us, and for our customers. The unsuccessful ones have taught us a great deal about software development.

We have had the privilege of working on a great project, with a great teacher, Kent Beck. We helped shape the software process named Extreme Programming, XP for short. Since then, we have been helping everyone who will listen to learn from our experience.

The first book in the Extreme Programming series, Extreme Programming Explained , covers the reasoning behind the XP process. Based on our experience on the original XP project (and others), this book describes what makes XP work, day to day and month to month.

Successful software development is a team effort--not just the development team but the larger team consisting of customers, management, and developers. Extreme Programming is a simple process that brings these people together and helps them to succeed together. XP is aimed primarily at object-oriented projects using teams of a dozen or fewer programmers in one location. We would use XP for both in-house development and development of shrink-wrapped software. The principles of XP apply to any moderately sized project that needs to deliver quality software rapidly and flexibly.

XP is about balancing the needs of customers with the abilities of programmers, and about steering (managing the project to success). If you're a customer, a programmer, or a manager, here's what this book offers you:

Customers--who have software that needs to be developed: you will learn simple, effective ways to communicate what you need, to be sure that you are getting what you need, and to steer the project to success. You will learn that you can change your mind and still get what you need on time.

Programmers--who, on an XP project, define the architecture, design the system, and write the tests and the code that support them: you will learn how to deliver business value quickly, how to deal with changing requirements, and how to build customer confidence and support. You will learn to build for tomorrow by building only what you need today.

Managers--who control the project resources: you will learn how to measure project progress, how to measure quality, and how to answer the all-important question, "When will you be done?" You will learn an important truth of management--to use the programmers' actual performance to predict completion.

Customers, programmers, and managers must all work together to build the system that's needed. Chapter 1, Extreme Programming, will describe the roles, rights, and responsibilities, and provide a road map for the book. Dig right in. We're sure that the XP practices can improve your projects, as they have ours.

0201708426P04062001

From the Back Cover

• Software that performs required tasks and meets expectations
• Accurate estimation of time to completion and cost of development
• The opportunity to decide which features to include and which to defer
• Frequent small releases that incorporate continual customer feedback
• Constant integration and automated testing that insures clean code and robust performance

These are some of the many benefits of Extreme Programming (XP), a software development approach especially geared for smaller teams facing vague or rapidly changing requirements. Despite the "extreme" in its name, XP actually reduces risks--the risk of putting out software that is faulty, out of date at its release, over budget, or not fully capable of performing the tasks for which it was intended. Initially considered radical, XP has proven itself successful and is entering the mainstream of software development. The greatest challenge now facing software development managers and engineers is how to implement this beneficial approach.

Extreme Programming Installed explains the core principles of Extreme Programming and details each step in the XP development cycle. This book conveys the essence of the XP approach--techniques for implementation, obstacles likely to be encountered, and experience-based advice for successful execution.

You will learn the best approaches to

• Working with an on-site customer
• Defining requirements with user "stories"
• Estimating the time and cost of each story
• Delivering small, frequent releases
• Performing constant integration and frequent iterations
• Running design sessions to help programmers move forward with confidence
• xUnit automated testing
• Handling defects in the fast-paced, team-oriented XP environment
• How to refine estimates and steer the development effort through frequent changes

The authors present the personal reflections of those who have been through the eXtreme Programming experience. Readers will benefit from first hand accounts of hard-won wisdom on topics such as the art of estimation, managing development infrastructure, solving problems without finger-pointing, the importance of simplicity, and how to introduce modern development tools into an environment where none existed.

0201708426B04062001

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional; 1 edition (October 26, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201708426
• ISBN-13: 978-0201708424
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 0.6 x 9.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #218,134 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Very useful whether you do XP or not December 4, 2000

By Sam Gentile

Format:Paperback

I am writing a new review. I mentioned, in my previous review, that I am acknowledged in the credits as having contributed, but I don't think I wrote a clear review. In a nutshell, this is one of the few programming books I keep right next to my keyboard for sound advice on Unit Testing and a variety of software construction, even though the company I am at does not do full XP (yet). The book assumes you have bought the concepts in "Extreme Programming Explained." While that is a great book, it is theory and one is still left with "Well, how do I do it?" This book shows you step by step. One of the problems I had in the previous book and on the Web, was understanding User Stories and User Story Estimation. This book leads you through the process. One of the wonderful things about Extreme Programming is that it is a lightweight, yet rigorous process. In this day of huge process like CMM and ISO9000, which most programmers totally reject, XP is light enough and common sense enough to be adopted. In fact, many of the pratcices in this book are totally useful even if you have not totally adopted XP. Example: At my current company, we need to add Unit Tests fast. This book gave me the step by step procedures to do just that. The book covers in detail all the XP practices with examples. One of the only downfalls of the book is that a lot of the examples are in Smalltalk, a language that the authors favor, but few use. I had a hard time with the examples, however I finally understood them, and there is a Java section. Overall, XP is a revolution in software development and this book is the guide!

36 of 41 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Definitely a must-have October 28, 2000

By Lee

Format:Paperback

This is the second(or was it the third?) book in the XP series. If you are a manager, try to decide whether to use XP, try the "XP Explained" book instead. This book is for people who buy the concept of XP, and wants to know how to implement it in their workplace. But this book is definitely beneficial to anyone, as they are applicable everyday, even if you are not practising XP.

While books like "The Unified Software Development Process" left me in a complete daze, XP Installed leads me step by step on how to go about doing XP. An good example would be getting "User Stories"(comparable to Use Case), XP Installed teaches you what a "User Story" is, and how to go about writing one.

This book is again, of the correct size, easy for carrying around. The authors wrote the book in a concise, no-nonsense matter. There's never a case of you seeing merry-go-rounds :) Unlike other books, this book was previously released to the XP community for reading, feedback and suggestions. The result of it, is a better XP book minus all the flaws which could have been left undetected.

This book is a must-have for your bookshelf.

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Achieveable programming utopia is described December 8, 2000

By Charles Ashbacher HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

Once the theory has been assimilated, it comes time to execute. From the theoretical side, Extreme Programming(XP) is intuitively obvious. However, as we all know, theory and practice sometimes have only a passing acquaintance. Implementing and maintaining the principles of XP requires many traits, some of which are all to rare.
Since XP does not allow for the slipping of a deadline, it is sometimes necessary for someone to summon up a good deal of courage. It may be necessary to go to a supervisor and lay the cards on the table and say you can't have it all. Since those cards would contain a list of the requested features, this is guaranteed to make you unpopular. If that supervisor is one whose idea of motivation is to raise the level of fear and hours of uncompensated overtime, then it could be your last act at that company. That possibility is the one area where I have concerns about this book and XP in general. To implement it requires the commitment of all persons in the chain of command. If at any point someone at one level gives up the faith, then it is hard to see how it can be recovered.
This book is a story of how XP looks when it is being used as described. Although somewhat idealistic in its premise of forty hour weeks, limited overtime and keeping the goals within reach, there is no doubt that as described here, it does work. In fact, to most programmers, it sounds like the ideal work environment. For some time, I have pondered the choice of the word extreme to describe this mode of programming. After reading this book, I now understand why it is applicable. Using the XP method to build software requires extreme commitment from all parties to the endeavor. From the customer to the programmers up to the highest levels of management, everyone must believe in it.
In the end, XP will rise or fall based on the performance of those who adopt it. If they create programs cheaper, better and with more features, then it will be adopted. If not, then we will see a return to the locked in the cubicle mentality. However, it must be implemented in its entirety to be properly tested, and this book will show you how to do that.